About The Author I am Gertrudes Bandong Dy-Liacco, nicknamed Nenette. I dedicate this book to God and to my parents as my loving tribute to them. My father, Francisco Sanchez Bandong, was a lawyer who worked at the Bureau of Lands, and was also a contributing writer to the Philippines Free Press. He died at the age of 31, two days before I, his third child, was born. My mother, Pilar Cortes Bandong, a teacher who spoke English, Tagalog, Ilocano, Pangasinan, Ybanag and Gad-dang, was a kindhearted woman. Having come from a family with landed properties, she was always ready to help those who were in need. She could not keep to herself her respect and love for my father who was a man of integrity. Her esteem for my father was echoed by her siblings and by her parents who loved my father for his intelligence and good character. When I was 6 years old, my widowed mother became Pilar Ventura when she married a widower physician who had four children by his first marriage, all of whom relocated to our hometown in Cauayan, Isabela. From childhood, I spoke Ilocano, Gaddang and Ybanag. For my sake, my Mom sent me to live with relatives - to her siblings and their families in various parts of the Philippines. Being away from my Mom and my siblings made me homesick and lonely, but the positive things that came out from this was my learning to speak Tagalog, Cebuano, some Pangasinan, and some Maranaw, which is a Muslim dialect. I took up Philosophy and Letters at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines and was astonished to discover that many Filipino words, especially in Ilocano, are actually Spanish words. After college, I worked at the China Banking Corporation in Manila where I learned to speak some Fookien Chinese phrases. At this bank, I met Mariano Ursua Dy-Liacco III whom I fell in love with and got married to. Through my husband, I learned to speak his regional dialect, which is Bicolano. We have four children and at this stage of our lives, my husband and I find delight in reminiscing the child¬hood years of our children and grandchildren. I'm happy to state that early this year, 2018, my husband and I celebrated our 52nd wedding anniversary. On January 1983, Mariano and I and our 4 children migrated to the USA. We settled in San Francisco, California where most of our relatives lived. I worked at the Transamerica Pyramid before work¬ing at the City & County of San Francisco. After my retire¬ment from the city government, I did volunteer work at a San Francisco Bay Area hospital. Later, I worked as a home-based telephone translator for English, Tagalog and Ilocano. I interpreted for government offices and business corpo¬rations within the United States, comprising main¬land USA, Alaska and Hawaii, besides Canada, the Philippines, and Guam. Most dictionaries are produced through the teamwork of authors and their assistants, sometimes numbering up to a hundred people. It may surprise people to know that I alone, without the help of anyone, embarked on writing, and created and consummately finished this book, "New Tourists' Favorite Destination: the Beautiful Philippines and its Known and Little Known Facts plus Conversational English, Tagalog, Ilocano, Bicolano, Cebuano, Ybanag and Gaddang Dictionary." It took 9 long years for me to put this book into completion, while simultaneously working as a translator on the first 5 years. I praise and thank God that He made it possible for me to produce this book, despite my being in my 70's and having health problems, and with just one good eye since one eye has only peripheral vision now. I also lend a helping hand and moral support to my husband, Mariano, who goes for dialysis treatments thrice a week, and from time to time, goes for medical check-ups, laboratory tests, and medicine-refill pick-ups. So I do hope this dictionary that I have worked so hard for, in the midst of challenges, would provide the information and help that I intended to offer to...